Frostbite
by kinatsurune
Summary: [eventual Jamie x Jack, somewhat chronological drabbles] At 17 years old and about to go to college, Jamie was no longer a child. But that didn't stop Jack from stopping by his window, waiting for and fearing the day his first believer would no longer believe. Obviously this involves a relationship between two males, you have been warned!
1. Reunion

_Summary: [Jamie x Jack, somewhat chronological drabbles] At 17 years old and about to go to college, Jamie was no longer a child. But that didn't stop Jack from stopping by his window, fearing the day his first believer would no longer believe._

_A/N: OMG just saw the movie and I'm already obsessed with Jack. The explosion of fanart/fanfic ideas swirling around in my head is more than I can take lol…I started writing these drabbles literally right after I saw the movie! Hope you enjoy!_

_Oh and please let me know of any inaccuracies, I'm sure there's a few…like, not sure if I got Jamie's eye color right._

_Edit: likhitata kindly pointed out that Jamie's eyes are brown...so I fixed that in this chapter. There might be some other incorrect references though, please let me know if you spot any!  
_

* * *

**One - Reunion  
**

He knew he wasn't supposed to be favoring one child like this. He was now a Guardian after all, and that entailed watching over and protecting ALL the children of the world. But honestly, was anyone going to blame him for visiting the one boy who had essentially saved them all? Even if it was almost every week.

Jack smirked slightly as he perched in his usual tree. He was certainly an official Guardian now, but that didn't mean he had to follow all the rules to the letter. Besides, as North had explained, they were more like guidelines anyway.

His thoughts were interrupted as the light inside the house turned on, revealing the boy he had come to see. It had been seven years since the fiasco with Pitch Black, and although he had seen Jamie only just last week, Jack felt a small pang as he watched the now 17 year old walk into his room. Jamie really wasn't a boy anymore - but what warmed Jack's heart was seeing the small stuffed figure of himself, propped up against Jamie's headboard. It was clear he still believed.

Ice blue eyes watched as Jamie went through his usual routine, greeting his Jack Frost figure as if he were really there. Having watched the teenager many times, Jack knew the boy's friends thought him strange for the ritual, but to him, it was a comforting thing to see. North had warned him of the inevitability of the children's sparks of belief fading out once they grew up. Jack hadn't wanted to believe it. He'd argued that at least the children who'd actually seen them would continue to believe, right?

Then three years ago, Cupcake had stopped believing. It wasn't soon after that the rest of Jamie's friends followed, which was when Jack had started visiting Jamie more and more, fearful of the day the boy would stop believing too. He knew he was only being sentimental since after all, most children did believe in him now. But Jamie had been the first child to see him, so how could he let go of that?

Jack shook his head, not wanting to think of such things. He focused again on the window in front of him, watching Jamie now talking heatedly on the phone. He frowned slightly, wondering what it was about - for the past few days, the teen was on the phone a lot, and it never seemed to end well.

Sure enough, after a few minutes of yelling the boy slammed his phone shut and tossed it onto his bed. He ran both hands through his dark brown hair, eyes shut tight in frustration.

It was getting late, and Jack knew he was supposed to have started his rounds by now. As a Guardian that wasn't attached to a specific time of the day or year, he'd been tasked with a more general sense of guardianship, simply watching over the children wherever he happened to be in the world. Still, he hated leaving Jamie so upset, so the minute the boy turned around, he leant forward and gently touched the tip of his staff to the glass.

The pale haired Guardian turned and jumped into the air, unaware of chocolate brown eyes now staring out the window.

* * *

Unfortunately, the next time Jack was able to visit was far too long for his tastes. Some of Pitch Black's nightmares had gotten a little out of control, and although the Boogieman was nowhere near as powerful as he had managed to get years ago, it had required a few of the guardians to take care of. Jack, being the most effective against Pitch's darkness, had of course volunteered to go.

It had taken longer than anyone expected to clean up; although Pitch himself was easily defeated, many of his nightmares persistently clung to their hosts, and the Guardians stayed for several more weeks afterwards, hoping their presence and occasional "accidental" sightings finally chased away the last of the fear. Then, North just had to take that opportunity to gently remind Jack of his duties to ALL the world's children, and he had been guilt tripped into staying a bit longer in that half of the world. It wasn't even winter in Australia...

By the time he returned, a whole year had passed. Hoping nothing drastic had happened while he was away like moving out, Jack silently alighted onto his tree perch, waiting for Jamie's room light to turn on.

He breathed a sigh of relief as the room finally filled with light, revealing the familiar brown haired teen. Immediately a frown crossed his face as he noticed Jamie's expression - the boy was definitely in low spirits. It seemed even after a year, whatever problems he'd been having hadn't gone away.

Jack quickly jumped to a higher branch as Jamie walked to his window, out of the teen's line of sight. He knew North would hardly care if he allowed Jamie to see him even if he was no longer a child, but he still feared the teenager would no longer be able to see him. He knew he'd have to find out eventually, but it wouldn't be tonight. Leaning forward, he was able to watch as Jamie opened his window, leaning out as if expecting to see someone.

A brief hope flashed through Jack's mind, only to be immediately squashed. There was no way he had noticed...

"Dammit..."

Jack's ears pricked as he picked up the soft muttered curse. Curiosity burned at him - why was Jamie so upset?

Silent as an owl, Jack slowly climbed down the tree until he hung from his original perch. By now Jamie had turned his back on the window to lean against the window sill, although he had left it open. Jack watched, becoming more and more confused as the teen simply stood there, head bowed with his back to the cold, open air.

Curiosity began to morph into concern, as half an hour passed, and Jamie still hadn't moved. Despite his namesake, Jack didn't want the boy to become too cold, lest he become sick. Maybe if Jamie felt a sudden chill, he would shut his window and return to the warmth of his home. Creeping forward, Jack slowly reached forward with his staff, intending to touch just the very tip against Jamie's back.

What he didn't expect was for the teen to suddenly whirl around, grab at his staff, and yank hard.


	2. Reunion II

_A/N: I totally didn't realize that the term 'frostbite' could refer to the Jack/Tooth pairing, although I have to admit that is kind of a creative, cute term for them. But just to clarify, this fic is definitely NOT of that kind! Although the summary really should have been clear enough XD_

_Another clarification: This is a developing, EVENTUAL Jamie x Jack. I wanted to try and capture a relationship that slowly grows into something solid and meaningful, hence the main category being Friendship, with the secondary as Romance. So if you were hoping for a quick 'n' dirty get together, sorry, but you won't find that here! :P_

_Enjoy, and please let me know what you think!  
_

* * *

**Two – Reunion II**

"WHOA!"

For a few seconds, Jack was far too stunned to say anything else. Finally, he came to his senses and ice blue eyes widened as he realized his position.

Taken completely by surprise, he'd offered no resistance as Jamie had pulled him forward and through the window, and as a result had ended up sprawled on top of the other boy. Both limbs and staff were tangled up in an uncomfortable mess, and Jack struggled to free himself from the grinning brunette.

"Wh-what did you do that for?" Jack blurted out as he finally managed to stand. Immediately he winced - the first time speaking to Jamie in years, and that was the best he could come up with? "Uh, you can still see me?" Slightly better he supposed, but not much.

The grin on Jamie's face only got wider and Jack was alarmed to realize that this was the first time in a while he'd seen Jamie look genuinely happy. In fact, he hadn't seen Jamie smile much at all in the past few years.

"I knew it was you!" Jamie crowed, leaping forward to envelop a shocked Jack in a tight hug. The pale haired Guardian couldn't help but note that the last hug he'd gotten from Jamie was drastically different - for one thing, the other boy had barely been able to wrap his arms around his waist, let alone his entire torso.

"What do you mean?" Jack asked, bemused. Despite his confusion, he couldn't help the smile of relief. His fears were completely unfounded, as Jamie could clearly see - and even touch - him.

In answer, the brunette lifted his hand to reveal a small mirror. Jack stared at it for a few seconds, uncomprehending, before realization dawned on him. "You were watching me? Then…you tricked me!"

Jamie laughed out loud. "Well, I didn't think it would actually work, but yep! How else was I going to get you to come close enough?"

Jack shook his head, still feeling as if he hadn't gotten his bearings yet. "So that means…you knew I was out there all this time."

Jamie nodded enthusiastically. "Of course! Don't you think I would have noticed by now? It's not like Sandman would leave behind frosted windows." The teen suddenly frowned. "But then you didn't show up for a whole year. I was afraid you'd stopped visiting me."

Jack felt a smile creeping onto his face. It seemed his first believer had been thinking of him far more than he expected. "Well I guess I didn't have to worry about your spark going out." He murmured softly, mostly to himself.

Jamie shot him a confused look, but seemed to shrug it off. Instead, a slightly petulant look came over the teen's face. "All those times you were outside my window…you couldn't once actually say hello?"

Despite their height differences, Jack felt the urge to ruffle Jamie's hair. So he did, although he had to float a few inches up into the air in order to reach. "Remember what I told you? You don't have to stop believing just because I'm not there."

"Believing in you is different from just wanting to see you." Jamie said bluntly, crossing his arms.

The young Guardian felt his breath hitch in his throat at the words, and a suspicious burning sensation behind his eyes. He had never expected his brief appearance in the boy's life to have had such a lasting effect.

Embarrassed by the sudden mushy feelings welling up within him, Jack pasted on a teasing grin. "You should consider yourself honored. Technically I'm not supposed to be showing myself to you in the first place."

"Why not? Says who?" Jamie whined. Jack couldn't help but laugh – clearly, Jamie had still retained a few of his child-like qualities.

"You're not a kid anymore, remember?"

"So? What's that got to do with-" Jamie suddenly fell silent, and a few seconds later the reason why became apparent. The two boys heard footsteps approaching from outside the room, followed by a woman's voice calling out.

"Jamie? Who are you talking to?"

"Uh, no one mom! Just playing a movie on my computer!" Jamie hollered. He shook his head pleadingly as Jack hopped back up onto the open window, throwing a goodbye salute.

'Wait!' He mouthed. But by then it was too late – the young Guardian had leapt away amidst a flurry of snow.


	3. College

_A/N: Thanks so much to all who are following this story! I'm really glad so many people are reading, but if you have a spare minute, please drop a comment on how I'm doing! :) Just a few words can really make my day, trust me. I will really really appreciate any kind of feedback I can get, as I haven't written fanfiction in a while and I'm a little insecure about my writing right now._

_To those who have reviewed/given feedback, thank you so much! I treasure each one :3_

_Also I'm not sure where Jamie lives, I know they showed it in the movie but I can't remember...hopefully it's not Boston because then this won't make much sense! lol  
_

_Enjoy!_

**College**

* * *

"I'm moving to Boston next month."

Jack tilted his head, currently perched Indian style on Jamie's window sill. He'd decided to stop by earlier in the day, and taking the brunette's feelings to heart, stayed a bit longer this time to actually say hello. After all, it wasn't like he had to hide from the boy anymore.

"Boston? Why?" He hopped into the room, bringing with him a few flurries of snowflakes inside. He browsed the room curiously, poking and prodding at practically every other item. The last time he'd been inside and really seen this room was when Jamie was 10 years old, and it was interesting to see up close all the new things he had.

For one thing, his reading preferences. He couldn't help but laugh out loud at the majority of reading selection – much of it focused on the lore and origins of holiday figures and urban myths.

'Not exactly myths.' Jack thought, wondering how the authors might have reacted to a visit from himself. They would probably have a field day.

"For college."

Jack grimaced, making no attempt to hide his distaste. Although he usually hung around the children he was now charged to protect, one didn't go 300 years without overhearing some of the nearby parents' conversations. College was something that simply sounded painful for all parties involved. "That's where you'll get no sleep to learn things you'll never use? Why would you want to go there?"

Jamie laughed, pausing in his task of packing things into a huge cardboard box. "Where did you hear that?"

Jack shrugged, now moving on to examine the cage on Jamie's desk, and the scampering lizards contained inside. "I overhear things. Parents, mostly."

"Well that's an interesting interpretation…but what I'll learn, I definitely intend to use, trust me. Anyway, I'm telling you because you should visit me there instead." Jamie explained. "Are you listening?"

Ice blue eyes widened suddenly, and Jack whirled around with a wide smile on his face. "Yup, sure I heard you. Uh, well look at the time…I should go, North – I mean, Santa wanted to, uh, wanted me to help, um, paint his toys! Yeah, so I'll see you later!" Before Jamie could even blink, the Guardian had zipped out of the window, the only evidence of his visit a small pile of snow already melting on the floor.

And two frozen lizards.

"What the - Jaaack!"


	4. Girlfriend

_A/N: _

_Story notes: I am going off the assumption that Jack has limited knowledge of teenage/adult affairs. The way I see it, even though he himself is technically a teenager, he spends most of his time hanging around young children, and he doesn't remember most of his past life._

_This drabble isn't quite as happy as the others, but it does establish a bit more background on what else is going on in Jamie's life. I hope you still enjoy!_

_Other notes:  
_

_ThePreppyEmo is having a poll for Jamie x Jack nicknames. Go vote!  
_

_ u/4399754/ThePreppyEmo_

_Edit: Just saw the movie again and while it was just as fun as the first time, it made me realize a few mistakes D: Like Jamie having another female friend (forgot her name already lol), so in order for this chapter to make sense, let's just say she moved away. Haha whoops...  
_

* * *

**Girlfriend**

It looked like it was another one of those days. Jack watched, frowning, as Jamie continued to argue into his phone, once in a while gesturing wildly into the air. This time the argument seemed to last a lot longer than usual, and the young Guardian wondered not for the first time what it was that seemed to frustrate the brunette so consistently.

Having frosted a not so flattering rendition of Bunny on the window glass, Jack turned to leave when it looked like the pacing teen inside wasn't going to be finished anytime soon. Hopefully the boy would be cheered at least somewhat when he saw the little gift he'd left.

"Jack!"

The pale haired Guardian looked down to see Jamie waving frantically up at him. Grinning, he quickly floated down to enter through the window, glad to see that accursed phone nowhere in sight. "Someone needs a bit of fun." Jack brandished an enchanted snowball, ready to slug it straight into Jamie's face.

"Not inside my room!" Jamie yelped, holding his hands up defensively. The move was in vain, as the snowball smashed into his forehead.

Mischief quickly took over his expression as the enchanted flakes were released into his eyes. With the lack of snow around to make a snowball however, Jamie instead settled for tackling a laughing Jack to the floor.

Ten minutes later found the two boys taking a break after a furious wrestling match in which Jack won, solely because he made himself too cold to hold down.

"That's…just…cheating." Jamie wheezed out, splayed out on the floor.

"Whatever works." Jack grinned, not even out of breath as he crouched lazily on one of the bedposts.

After a few seconds of companionable silence, the young Guardian glanced down to glimpse Jamie's black phone half buried in the bedsheets. He was still burning with curiosity about who or what it was that always seemed to upset Jamie so much, but after managing to cheer the other boy up, he was reluctant to ask.

It seemed he didn't have to, as Jamie spotted the direction of his gaze and suddenly let out a loud sigh. "Girlfriend troubles." He said simply.

Jack shot him a confused look. To his knowledge, Cupcake had been his only female friend, and having seen them interact just last week, they didn't seem to be at odds with each other. Then again, he only saw Jamie once a week, it was very possible the teen had other friends he didn't know about.

"Just throw a snowball at her." Jack shrugged. "I'll give you an enchanted one if you really need it."

Jamie burst out laughing. "It's not that simple! She'd probably punch me in the face if I did that-" The teen abruptly cut himself off as a cheerful, tinny ringing filled the room. Jack was momentarily confused until the other boy frantically dove into his bed, scrambling to find his phone.

"Hello! Hello? Yeah, sorry, I couldn't find my phone for a second...um, right, sure we can talk about it...okay, sure..."

Jack watched as Jamie's face slowly fell, all traces of their previous fun rapidly disappearing. He determined that this friend of Jamie's definitely wasn't good for him if she was able to so easily suck away all his joy. Considering he was the Guardian of Joy and Fun, Jack resolved to tell Jamie exactly these thoughts the minute he got off the phone.

Unfortunately, Jamie ended up talking for quite a while, and the young Guardian had had to leave, feeling a strangely vague sense of disappointment.


	5. I believe in you

_A/N: Baaaaaaaaaaaah, just saw the movie again! And of course it was just as good as the first time...except a little torturous, because now that I'm in fullblown Jamie x Jack mode, I couldn't help the numerous plot ideas popping into my head...but I couldn't write them dooown cuz it was too dark in the theater!  
_

_Also, merry Christmas Eve, everyone!  
_

_Chapter notes:  
_

_I don't believe I ever saw or heard Jamie's father in the movie (correct me if I'm wrong), so my interpretation of that little fact is hinted at here.  
_

_I'm sorry for the short length again! Honestly I'm trying to make them longer, but they just don't seem to come out that way T_T I don't want to force it though because then it just starts feeling like blah..  
_

_Edit: omg omg OMG LOOK AT WHAT WAS ON THE MAINPAGE AT DEVIANTART! I WAAAANT ONE_

_(take out spaces and replace 'dot' with period and 'slash' with an actual slash)_

_mangax3me dot deviantart dot com slash art slash __ROTG-Necklace-Jack-Frost-NEW-COLLECTION-344403972_

* * *

**I Believe in You**

Every night before he went to bed, Jamie would whisper the same four words to the small stuffed figure lying beside him. At first, it was because he was afraid. Despite what Jack Frost had told him about being in his heart, he knew he would still miss his new friends. It was true that deep in his heart he believed they would always be there, but he was still a child who had already experienced important people walking out on his life.

Then, he began to whisper the words in defiance. For a few years, he and his friends had relished in the special adventure they had all shared, their role in protecting the Guardians. It was a thrill, a secret, a bond that kept them all together. But as they grew older, they seemed to become more and more distant to the memory – as if it had been nothing more than a figment of their collective, childhood imaginations. Nothing but a dream.

But Jamie knew it had all been real, and he was determined to never let go of that belief.

Even so, there were some years where it was nothing more than a habit. His life did go on, and there were many other things to worry about. Some nights he even forgot to say the words, and there were even a few instances where he'd knocked his stuffed Jack to the floor in his sleep and forgot to pick it up the next day. Sometimes he'd forget about him for weeks, even months.

Then one day, he'd overheard a completely innocent, but almost identical comment to his mother's so many years ago. _Jack Frost isn't real, it's just a figure of speech_. And just like that, the passion of his belief returned, like a suddenly fierce snow storm taking an unsuspecting town by surprise. He'd never failed to say the words since, for every single night after.

Then, the Guardian of Joy himself began to visit him, in the flesh. It was the happiest realization of his life, although slightly frustrating at the same time since the winter spirit seemed to feel the need to hide from him. The day he finally managed to trick Jack into talking to him was a satisfying day indeed.

He wondered why he still felt the need to whisper the words every night, even with Jack now visiting every week. It was an idle thought though, and he simply shrugged it off as habit and indulged in keeping up his little tradition.

It wouldn't occur to him until a few months later that somehow, at some point, the meaning of those four little words had shifted to something completely different.


	6. There Really is a Santa Claus

_A/N: Okay I want to make this clear: Yes, I love reviews. Yes, I appreciate most feedback, both positive and critical. What I DON'T like is 'feedback' laced with impatience, or outright demands to update faster because the chapters are 'too damn short!'. I'll write at my own pace, because I don't want to sacrifice the quality of my writing, which WILL happen if I rush just to please a select few who don't have the courtesy to just effing WAIT.  
_

_On the other hand, I'm aware these chapters have been coming out really short, so the above mini-rant was in no way directed at those who COURTEOUSLY pointed that out. Technically a 'drabble' is actually only supposed to be 100 words (according to wikipedia), and to be honest I enjoy the challenge of trying to write something meaningful within a concise, short length, but I'm trying to make up for that by updating at least every other day.  
_

_Alright that's enough of that...on a more happier note, I hope everyone enjoyed an awesomely Merry Christmas! I got 3 video games I was really hoping to get! :3 AC3, Halo 4, Shaddei... I'm going to get no sleep in the next few days playing them hehehe  
_

_Chapter notes:  
_

_The title of this chapter is an actual book, I kid you not. I found it on Amazon actually...**  
**_

**There Really is a Santa Claus**

"Wow, that's a lot of books." Jack laughed as Jamie practically jumped out of his seat in surprise. "Jumpy, much? Have you been hanging out with Bunny?"

Jamie scowled, pulling off his glasses (which Jack still wasn't used to seeing on the boy's face) and rubbing at his eyes. "As if. You're the only Guardian that comes to pester me on a regular basis."

Jack frowned at the grumpy response. "And with good reason. I told you college wasn't going to be any fun, and it looks like I was right." Curiously, the pale haired Guardian floated over the messy desk and began poking at the scattered piles of books. "You're reading all of this?"

"Yes, now can you put that down, I need to study for an exam-"

Jack floated away out of reach. "Hmm... 'There Really is a Santa Claus.' Well of course there is, you've seen North! What do you need to read this for?"

"It's for an essay, and I can't use my personal experiences as a source, my professor's not going to believe me! Jack come on, I really have to study!" Jamie pleaded.

The young Guardian finally relented, if only because he was disturbed by the stressed look on Jamie's face. Heck, just looking at the other boy was beginning to make him feel stressed too, which was NOT a good thing for the Guardian of Fun to feel. "For what? What is all this for? It doesn't seem like it makes you very happy..."

Despite his obvious fatigue, a shine returned to Jamie's eyes as he explained. "For my creative writing degree. I want to write children's books about all of you guys so more and more kids will believe. Did you know there are some kids who have never even heard of the Easter bunny?"

"Oh boy, don't let Bunny hear that." Even as the joke left his lips, Jack stared down at this tired human in a new light. Not only had his own appearance had such an effect on the boy, but all of them. And he was working so hard for them, wanting to bring more children's sparks to life.

The young Guardian had always thought the best kind of fun was the loud laughter of delighted children running around, throwing snowballs, shouting at each other, and generally making the loudest ruckus possible. But sitting there silently, watching Jamie studiously work towards his goal of keeping the Guardians alive, was a moment he could really enjoy.


	7. Adults

_A/N: Something I found cute and interesting, mentioned by Loti-miko - in Mexico, it's a Tooth Mouse, not Tooth Fairy! This totally explains what I thought was a random insertion of that one mouse that Baby Tooth attacks for doing his toothly duties._

_Chapter notes: Jack's turn to muse! I was envisioning this taking place outside of Jamie's own room, but I guess it can still apply to his dorm room, in order to keep it chronologically correct. Let's just say Jamie's dorm room also has a tree next to the window. Convenient for Jack! XD  
_

_Also, I'm taking a bit of creative liberty and assuming Jack died when he was 17. So physically, his body is that of a 17-year old.  
_

* * *

**Adults**

Jack had always preferred playing with children over adults, even before he'd become aware of his role in watching over them. There was something much more free-spirited about them, no holding back. Adults always seemed to be hiding something, regretting something, always something below the surface that he didn't want to bother interpreting. It was too tiresome to figure out if one adult would react negatively to a snowball in the face (which a lot of them did), while children would just laugh and start their own snowball fight.

Only when he was feeling particularly mischievous and determined, he'd target the adults specifically and relentlessly. There was an odd satisfaction to seeing them finally let loose, release the top on their tightly wound emotions.

Teenagers were another story. They were always moody, so unpredictable! He knew now that he himself had been one in his past life, but even if he couldn't remember, he doubted he was as temperamental as most of the ones he saw today. More than once, he'd seen his snowballs spark a fistfight between supposed friends. That definitely wasn't the kind of fun he'd been aiming for.

It was these experiences that made him slightly hesitant around Jamie sometimes. He'd never interacted so closely with an adult before, and although he'd watched the brunette for many years, it was a different thing to actually talk and play with him. Heck, he didn't even normally talk to the children and expect them to answer back!

Jack sighed, leaning back against the trunk of his tree and resting his staff against his shoulder. He glanced over again at the dark window next to him where Jamie had yet to appear. He was starting to wonder if sitting here for so long was making him think strange thoughts. After all, even though Jamie was no longer a child, he did seem different from the other teenagers and adults Jack had observed over the years. More open, more honest...except when it came to that stupid black phone and that stupid girl on the other end.

Glancing to the side once more, he was delighted to see that Jamie's room was now lit, the teen himself grinning widely as he waved to him.

_Or maybe I'm just thinking too hard about this_, Jack thought as he got up to jump through the window.

* * *

_A/N: I'm going on a short vacation, so probably won't be able to update until after Jan. 2. Thanks in advance for your patience!_


	8. Girlfriend II

_A/N: I was originally planning to make fanart for every chapter of Frostbite, but considering the speed at which I draw, that will take forever lol. My goal IS to eventually get to them all, but for now I was thinking if my lovely readers out there could tell me their favorite chapters/scenes so far, that will give me a good starting point!  
_

_And just because I wanted to try out the poll thingie for the first time, I have a poll up on my profile. But if you liked a specific scene, just let me know via review/PM. _

_I also have my first RotG fanart up on my deviantart account, check it out! (take out spaces, replace 'dot' with a period and 'slash' with a slash )  
_

_sunatsubu dot deviantart dot com slash art slash Jack-Frost-345731111_

_Thanks, and enjoy!  
_

* * *

**Girlfriend II**

Jamie wondered if there was something wrong with him.

He had just gotten off the phone with Marron, possibly for the last time, and yet all he felt was a sort of numbed relief. That couldn't have been the appropriate reaction to what was most likely a break-up with someone he'd been in a relationship with for 3 years. After all, she had been first and foremost a good friend. But now that it seemed like they would most likely never see or talk to each other, he should have felt at least a little sad, right?

Maybe it was because he'd been expecting it. Their conversations lately had been nothing but tense, and even the casual ones had held a vague sense of general irritation. But lately something about her just made him want to argue, although he had no idea what.

Jamie sighed as he flopped back onto his bed, resting a hand on his forehead. He could still remember their first argument so clearly, if only because it had caught him completely by surprise.

_"You're never here, Jamie. I mean, you are, but it's like you're always too busy daydreaming to even pay attention to me."_

_"But...I've always been like that. And you knew me before!"_

_"Would it hurt to grow up, just a little? You won't even come over to my house after school because you think you'll miss your stupid imaginary friend! How am I supposed to even compete with that?"_

What was he to say to that? He had, after all, thought they had been perfectly fine. Since they'd already been good friends, he hadn't been aware something was supposed to change.

Every subsequent argument after that had been about the same thing. Look at me, pay attention to me, stop talking about Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, JACK FROST, why are you acting like you're still 10 years old...

In the end, she'd started becoming too embarrassed to hang out with him in public. It was a wonder they simply hadn't broken it off right then and there, but for some reason, she'd still called him almost every day to just talk. Even after they'd started going to their respective colleges, she'd still called.

Tonight however, she'd apparently gotten drunk, and had proceeded to call him and literally wail into his ear. About how it was over between them, how sorry she was, how messed up _he_ was, that she'd been hoping to fix him of his problem and to please please forgive her that she'd failed. When he'd tried to ask what problem he was supposed to have, she'd just blubbered some nonsense about not wanting him to turn into Peter Pan like her dad, made a few more wet choking noises, then abruptly hung up.

He'd been thoroughly confused of course, but had recognized the drunken break up for what it was. Even if Marron called back later to say she didn't mean it, there was no point in continuing their relationship. There hadn't been, for the past 2 years.

"Jamie! You'd never believe what- hey, what's wrong?"

The brunette turned towards his window to meet startled ice blue eyes. Slowly, he lifted a hand to his cheeks and realized they were wet. When had he started crying? "I...I don't..."

Before Jamie could even finish the half-formed sentence, he was suddenly enveloped in a rush of blue and white. And just like that, the numbness broke, making way for the torrent of guilt and regret of losing his friend.

As he watched his tears freeze against the Guardian's sweater, Jamie vaguely wondered how such an ice cold embrace could be so warm.

* * *

_A/N: The 'nonsense' about Peter Pan and Marron's dad...kudos to anyone who knows what I'm actually referring to!_


	9. Pain

_A/N: Another not quite so happy drabble, but what's a story without a little angst, eh? Next one will probably be a bit more fluffy :P  
_

_And as for the Peter Pan thing from the previous chapter (I'm sad no one got this reference lol), Marron's dad has something called Peter Pan Syndrome. Not an 'official' mental disease, but it's meant to describe "younger generations' unwillingness to grow up and their corresponding immature behaviors" (wikipedia) and if taken to the extremes, can negatively impact relationships with other people such as a tendency to avoid commitments and responsibilities.  
_

_Edit: Art for this chapter (replace bold with characters): sunatsubu **dot** deviantart **dot** com **slash** art **slash** Frozen-Tears-358849030  
_

* * *

**Pain**

Jack had experienced his own fair share of pain. He had, after all, lived through three entire centuries without ever knowing who he really was, or why he even existed.

At first, he could hardly stand it. He didn't want to believe that no one could see him, that he would always be invisible to everyone else. Perhaps his denial had only made it worse back then, for he persisted in trying to approach someone with that fragile hope in his heart that maybe this time, _this time_ they might see him. The crushing disappointment every time only served to break him even further.

He had lashed out, once. After yet another failed attempt, the winter spirit had slammed his staff down in frustration and ended up freezing the feet of the child in front of him. The boy had come very close to losing his toes, and crushed by the guilt of what he had almost done, Jack had given up completely on his attempts to interact with other people. He simply watched them, especially the children, fighting his loneliness by imagining he was playing right alongside them.

Still the pain never dulled, but he learned to accept it as a constant companion, as constant as the Man in the Moon. He could even forget it, at least temporarily, as he not only watched children having fun but started contributing to it as well.

He began to realize over the years that the only way to be seen was for people to believe in him. But no matter what he did, no matter how much fun he was able to produce, not one child began to believe in Jack Frost. Over and over again he would be disappointed, taken back to the time when he'd repeatedly tried and failed to get someone to just _see_ him.

He had been so jealous when learning of the Guardians' existence. With teeth, eggs, presents and even dreams...of course they would be easily believed in. But him? All he was to everyone was simply weather, a natural phenomenon that had just always been there. How was he supposed to fight that?

Disappointment, frustration, bitterness, jealousy...it was a wonder he hadn't turned out worse than he had. Somehow though, he'd managed to keep himself away from the darkness of true despair - at least most of the time - with the darkest part of him being nothing more than his sharp biting tongue. As North had jovially commented to him once, 'You turn out ooookaaay!'

But though he'd had 300 years of experience in mastering his own pain, he was helpless to master Jamie's. All he could offer was an ice cold embrace that did nothing but freeze his tears.


	10. Drunk

_A/N: I'm in the process of making a Jack x Jamie wallpaper, and I just finished the Jack half! Yaaay, but GOD it took so long lol..._

_(take out spaces, replace 'dot' with a period and 'slash' with a slash)_

_sunatsubu dot deviantart dot com slash # slash d5qs2vg_

_Chapter notes: Oh man, this one was really hard to write for some reason...had the idea and everything but the words just refused to come! DX Anyway, hope you still enjoy. And as always, feedback is always welcome!_

_Edit: I realize the topic of alcohol is sensitive to some people, and for that I apologize. This chapter touches on the fact that many college students tend to drink, but IN NO WAY is this meant to encourage irresponsible drinking! _

* * *

**Drunk**

Jack was beginning to get annoyed.

For the past few weeks, he felt like he was in perpetual state of confusion when it came to Jamie. And by extension, college students. Normally he would have just avoided the topic and flown off to find some children to play with, but he couldn't exactly do that unless he wanted to avoid Jamie too. Which he didn't, of course.

The main source of his confusion was Jamie's new definition of fun. The brunette used to so love snowball fights, even when he grew out of his childhood. But ever since he'd found Jamie crying in his room, staring at his black phone, he'd started going to all these parties instead. Just what was so great about these chaotic get togethers?

For one thing, a particularly popular activity seemed to be a contest on chugging beer - a disgustingly pungent drink, going by the smell. While it was a given that different people simply had different ideas of enjoying themselves, he just couldn't fathom why it was so hilarious when some unfortunate participant would start vomiting up his stomach contents. It only looked painful, messy, and to be frank, disgusting.

At least Jamie didn't usually join in that particular game. He seemed to prefer a different activity of trying to aim a little white ball into a series of red cups. At least he could understand the hilarity of that, considering everyone's coordination always seemed to get worse and worse as the game went on. He wondered why though.

Currently, he was following a wobbling Jamie back home from one of these parties, feeling a little put off that the brunette hadn't even looked up to acknowledge him. It wasn't like there was anyone else around to think the brunette crazy for seemingly talking to the air.

"Jamie."

No response.

"Jamie!"

Still no response. Now Jack was really getting annoyed, and he certainly wasn't one to just sit back and let things be.

"OW!" Jamie yelped, reeling back from the force of the snowball. Looking up with glassy eyes, he began to laugh uproariously as the enchanted flakes took over. "Jack! When didja get 'ere?" He slurred. Without even waiting for a response, he grabbed a handful of snow and threw it in Jack's direction.

Or tried to. Instead the brunette seemed to lose his balance, tipping over sideways to land in a pile of snow. He was still laughing, to Jack's amusement.

Floating down to hover above the giggling teen, Jack stared into glassy brown eyes. He was determined to get answers this time and end his ongoing confusion once and for all. "What is the matter with you? You're always acting strange after one of these parties."

"Ooohh, Jack. Jack Jack Jaaaaack." Jamie paused, seeming to savor the sounds he was making. "'M just drunk. Haven't ya ever sheen drunk people before?"

"Not really."

Jamie nodded, a goofy smile spreading across his face. "Hm I guess tha's cuz you only watch kids. Am I corrupting you, Jack?"

"How are you corrupting me?" The young Guardian wondered if he should be worried Jamie didn't seem very cold, despite being half buried in snow for the past few minutes.

Jamie shrugged, turning his head and closing his eyes. "Yeah, silly question, right? 'Specially since I'm the one that pro'lly needs corrupting." He fell silent, and Jack was left to wonder the meaning of that last sentence.

Despite his confusion at this state of being 'drunk,' Jack had realized long ago that this was a time when Jamie seemed to be more willing to talk about things. Wondering why he felt a little guilty, Jack hesitantly asked the one thing Jamie had consistently refused to talk about.

"Jamie...are you okay? About Marron?" It had been weeks since that fateful phone call, and yet the memory seemed as fresh as if it were yesterday. Perhaps it was because he was burning to know just what this Marron girl had said or done to hurt his friend so badly, yet the one time he directly tried to ask, Jamie had simply responded that he didn't want to talk about it.

Jack had respected his wishes. But that didn't stop the strange, sharp pain in his chest that only grew stronger as the weeks went by. It was the feeling that had started that night, the helplessness and frustration at being unable to do anything to ease Jamie's pain. How could he, if he didn't even know what was wrong in the first place?

Looking down, the pale-haired Guardian watched as Jamie grimaced at the question. "Ugh. Her. Yeah 'm fine." He paused, then let out a loud sigh. "Not really. I think there's shomethin' wrong wi' me. No, there definitely ish. I'm such a child. I'm sho immature. Why else can I still see you? D'you think I'm immature, Jack? Everyone says so. Just because I still believe...what's wrong with that? Why do they always make fun of me?"

For a few seconds, Jack was rendered speechless as pleading dark brown eyes stared into his own. Although Jamie had been far less cheerful over the past few weeks, this was the first time he'd shown such unrestrained emotion. Was this what Marron had said to him?

Before he could even respond though, Jamie continued to talk, as if he hadn't even expected an answer. "You know what? Who cares, right?" He flapped a hand in the air, staring at it for a few seconds as if he didn't recognize his own appendage. "I definitely shouldn't. They're the ones that're wrong anyway!" He suddenly shouted. Suddenly his glazed eyes focused on Jack's face as if seeing him for the first time. "Oh hey Jack. When didja get 'ere?"

Jack shook his head, feeling like he was getting lost in the sudden shift in Jamie's moods. "You asked me that exact question ten minutes ago."

Jamie wrinkled his nose in concentration before bursting out into laughter. "Oh yeah, you're right! Sorry I di'nt notice. Twice. You're always there though, aren't you? Well not always, jus' once a week...you shou' visit me more often ya know..." He trailed off, staring thoughtfully up at the sky.

Jack floated closer to the silent boy, worried at the sudden silence. "Jamie?"

Ice blue eyes widened as a warm hand suddenly shot up to grab at the back of his neck, pulling the startled Guardian down. "Hey, what-" His words were immediately cut off by warm lips against his own.

For a few seconds, the young Guardian was in too much shock to do anything. Once his brain finally managed to process what was happening however, Jack brought his hands forward to push against Jamie's chest, launching himself back into the air. He stared down with wide eyes at the now widely grinning teen. "What...what..."

Jamie only laughed in response, a sound the Guardian of Joy recognized as pure delight. It wasn't one of those casual, every day chuckles, which only confused him more, especially considering the brunette's previous mood. He shook his head, finally managing to get some semblance of speech back. "What did you do that for!" He shouted. "Why did you...k-kiss me?" Despite himself, the young Guardian felt a blush stain his cheeks.

Unfortunately and incredibly, the teen appeared to have fallen asleep. Jack burned with frustration, but concern as well. He knew it would be dangerous for Jamie to fall asleep outside, so putting aside his increasing confusion, he hovered down to wake the boy up.

With difficulty, he managed to get Jamie back to his dorm room, unceremoniously dumping him onto the bed. Growling at the snores emanating from the brunette, Jack realized he wouldn't get any answers tonight and flew off, feeling as if his head would explode.

He resolved to himself to return the very next day, as there was no way he was going to go a whole week without an explanation.


	11. Renewed

_A/N: Sorry for the delay! I've been hit with more fanart ideas than plot ideas lately, so been busy drawing instead. In fact, just finished a -ahem- not so innocent Jamie x Jack fanart...hehehe. You can find it on my deviantart account (url is on my profile page), entitled 'Jamie x Jack' in the ROTG section. Not going to provide the url here since it's proooobably nsfw...I figured those who will go through the trouble to find it are the ones who REALLY want to see it and won't flame me for ruining their eyes with perverted images. :)  
_

* * *

**Renewed**

"Hey, Jamie! Going to Darien's birthday party tonight?"

Jamie waved to his friend and idly wondered how the other boy would react if he suddenly vomited on his brand new shoes. Because that was exactly what he felt like doing at the mention of yet another party.

Instead, figuring Sam wouldn't exactly appreciate having reprocessed food splattered all over him, Jamie answered cheerfully, "Actually, I'm gonna have to pass. I think I need to take a break from all that, to be honest."

Sam scoffed, slinging an arm around his friend's shoulder. "What do you mean, a break? If you ask me, you need to go to more of these, take your mind off certain things. Maybe find a certain someone to do that for you, if you know what I mean." He waggled his eyebrows in a comical manner, making his friend laugh.

"No thanks. Unlike some people here, I actually have to study tonight." Jamie quickly ducked out of Sam's embrace before the other boy could protest.

"Fiiiine." Sam sighed, finally relenting. "See you tomorrow, yeah?"

Jamie waved to his retreating friend, smiling slightly as the guy almost immediately began to hit on a group of passing girls. Honestly, he had no shame...

Nevertheless, Jamie knew Sam was a good guy. That had been evident in his attempts at cheering him up for the past few weeks, even if that had involved trying to hook him up with some random girls by dragging him to as many parties as he could find (which was a LOT). Honestly, he wasn't that kind of person, but he didn't really have the heart to say no.

Well, until now. Parties had never really been his thing, and while he'd humored Sam at his attempts to cheer him up, it was beginning to wear him out. Looking back, Jamie began to feel mildly embarrassed with himself at the way he'd been acting lately. Not that he had anything against most of his friends who enjoyed drinking themselves into a stupor, but they did that for fun. He'd done it to forget. In retrospect, somehow that felt like he'd only been cheating himself of something.

Even worse, it seemed to have affected Jack. He'd noticed the winter spirit had been more subdued around him lately, almost hesitant or unsure. Several times he had even caught the pale-haired Guardian opening his mouth to say something, only to abruptly shut it again with a strange look on his face.

Jamie sighed, snuggling his chin deeper into his scarf as a sudden, cold gust of wind swept past him. He probably shouldn't have let it bother him so much - after all, Jack had started visiting almost every day for the past week. The Guardian had evaded his questions when he tried to ask why, but regardless of the reason, he enjoyed the change all the same.

He'd missed Jack. Jamie was surprised but slightly amused at the realization, considering the winter spirit had actually increased the frequency of his visits. Maybe it was because every time the Guardian had come to visit, he'd done nothing but mope. He supposed it was because Jack had already seen him at his worst, so he didn't have to fake any smiles like he did with his other friends. Still, he couldn't help but feel a little guilty at how gloomy he'd been lately. Clearly, going to Sam's parties hadn't done anything for him, yet how many times had he declined Jack's invitations to a snowball fight just to get drunk?

Jamie glanced up as something cold suddenly fell on his nose and grinned as he spotted several tiny white flakes dancing in the wind. He resolved to himself that the next time Jack visited - hopefully tonight - he would greet his friend with nothing less than a snowball to the face.


	12. Skating Lessons

_A/N: __I know that Jack is no longer a normal human, but I'm assuming his body still functions like one. Specifically, I'm assuming he still has a body temperature (though much lower than normal), and thus is still able to blush. Which he does a lot of in this chapter :3 __Also, I haven't skated since elementary school, but I tried to include stuff that seemed like common sense to me._

* * *

**Skating Lessons**

Jack was starting to become mildly disgusted with himself. He'd pondered and agonized over that stupid kiss so much that it was beginning to drive him insane, and when the spirit in control of winter started to get a few screws loose in the head, things were not going to end well.

The young Guardian took a deep breath, managing to keep himself from dumping a crap ton of snow over the city currently in front of him. There was no need to take his frustrations out on innocent bystanders.

Though one bystander in particular wasn't innocent at all. In fact, he wasn't even a bystander, since this whole mess was Jamie's fault in the first place. How dare he do something like that, then not even remember it? That just wasn't fair!

He groaned, then decided he needed to end this. Even Bunny had roughly shown concern for his distracted state, though of course it was expressed under the guise of several taunts about losing his touch. Then of course Tooth had to join in, and between the two of them they'd managed to get at least a general idea of what was troubling him. He'd barely managed to escape before they'd forced out just who was the cause.

Cheeks flushing at the memory, Jack flew down towards Jamie's window, determined to bring IT up, once and for all. He conveniently forgot the fact that he'd told himself the same thing every day for the past week.

Spotting the open window, the young Guardian rushed through without even waiting for a greeting. "Jamie! I need to ask you something - huh?"

The brunette turned around, a wide smile barely visible under the thick fluffy scarf. "Hey Jack! Just in time, I was afraid you weren't going to show up!"

Jack felt his previous resolve already slipping as his confusion took over. "Are you going out somewhere? Yesterday you said you had to study..."

"Yeah, but we haven't done anything in so long, and my exam tomorrow is for an easy class anyway. Come on, I saw a lake past the South Quad, and it's frozen completely solid! Let's go check it out!" The brunette eagerly brandished a pair of ice skates.

Immediately, Jack felt a twinge of pain at the sight of the skates. He'd never actually told Jamie what had happened in his past life. It had never really come up, and to be honest, Jack wasn't sure he ever wanted to bring it up - the battle with Pitch had certainly allowed closure for some things, but not all...

Realizing what his silence could have been interpreted as, Jack quickly shook himself out of his thoughts and opened his mouth to respond. Before he could get a word in however, he was cut off by Jamie's remorseful tone. "I know I've been kind of moping a lot lately and I'm really sorry I brushed you off so many times. I shouldn't have done that, no matter how depressed I got. And...well, I guess I'm saying I miss just hanging out, you know?"

Jack couldn't help but smile at the puppy dog look on Jamie's face. How could he say no to that? "Well come on then, what are you waiting for?"

Fifteen minutes later found them standing in front of the aforementioned lake, with one boy laughing loudly as he continued to slip and fall, the other lingering at the edge clutching tightly at his staff. Jack hadn't thought it would affect him this much to see someone close to him skating on a lake again. Yet here he was, focusing everything in his being at keeping the lake's surface frozen by at least several feet, despite the fact that the few inches already frozen were more than sufficient.

"Jack! What's wrong, don't you want to try?" A sudden look of understanding came across Jamie's face, followed by a grimace. "Oh, well I guess it wouldn't be that exciting for you, being able to fly and all."

Despite his misgivings, Jack didn't like the suddenly discouraged look on Jamie's face. He realized the brunette must have really been trying to make things up to him for him to show such disappointment. With a quick shake of his head, he stopped focusing on the lake and floated over to his friend, currently sprawled out on the ice from yet another fall.

"You're not very good at this, are you?" Jack commented, amused as he helped Jamie up.

"Yeah, this is only my third time in my entire life." Jamie explained, wobbling in place. "These are my friend's skates too, and his feet are definitely bigger than mine by at least two si-whoaa!" He yelped as he began to tip over again.

Without even thinking, Jack rushed forward to catch the falling body, snaking his arms under Jamie's while supporting his back against his chest. By the time he managed to steady the brunette, the winter spirit realized their faces were_ extremely close_.

His immediate instinct was to back away, however doing so would probably cause Jamie to lose his balance again. Instead, the young Guardian had to settle for fiercely fighting down the blush rising in his cheeks while mentally cursing the slight waver in his voice. "Y-you need to straighten your feet out more. Here, like this."

Waiting until Jamie looked as if he wouldn't fall over again, Jack floated back a few inches with a quick sigh of relief before crouching down on the ice. Carefully, he maneuvered the brunette's feet and ankles until they were no longer in such a precarious configuration. As soon as they were positioned to his satisfaction, Jack quickly backed off, relieved that his face didn't feel quite so warm anymore.

"This is a lot harder than I thought it would be." Jamie grumbled.

Jack couldn't help but laugh at the look of intense concentration on the teen's face. "Try and hold your arms out and steady as you move. It'll help you balance." He advised.

As the young Guardian continued to teach his friend, he was surprised to find that his previous anxiety had all but disappeared. Then again, he was probably being silly for worrying. After all, he was the spirit of winter, and could easily sense any points of weakness in the ice. Plus, it was just too funny to watch the amount of flailing the brunette thought was necessary to stay balanced.

Even more amusing was that even after two hours, Jamie still couldn't skate across the lake without falling down. Jack couldn't help but tease him about his stunning lack of coordination, but promised they could definitely continue their impromptu skating lessons another day.

It wasn't until he was halfway across the world resuming his duties as the bringer of winter that he realized with consternation that he'd forgotten, yet again, to ask about that stupid kiss.


	13. Delayed Realizations

_A/N: Oh man, I'm so sorry for the delay! Work has been getting pretty busy, among other things...I probably won't be able to keep up with updating every other day anymore, though I will certainly try. Also just to reiterate from previous chapters...I love any kind of feedback! I promise, it'll only take just a few seconds of your time, and even something as simple as 'you spelled so-and-so wrong' will be greatly appreciated! _

_The Jamie half of my Jack/Jamie wallpaper has been finished! (replace bolded words with the characters)_

_sunatsubu **dot** deviantart **dot** com **slash** gallery **slash** # **slash** d5s4akl  
_

_And for those who have voted on my poll/let me know in their review, I have NOT forgotten, I promise! I'll definitely (eventually) get to drawing art for those chapters! :)  
_

_Enjoy!  
_

* * *

**Delayed Realizations**

Jamie sighed, kicking glumly at the snow on the sidewalk. His eyes gravitated once more to the crinkled paper in his hands, focusing on the angry crimson marks. The brunette resisted the urge to stick his tongue out at the scribbled words at the top.

_'Creative use of several urban myths, although integration and flow is still somewhat choppy. Additionally, characters should be developed further, as several seemed too contrived.'_

How the hell could his characters be 'contrived?' They were based on actual people!

Jamie shook his head, stuffing the paper into his pocket once more. Though his professor hadn't said it outright, he knew exactly who the man was referring to. Everyone knew who Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, Sandman, and the Easter Bunny was, so who else could be 'contrived' but Jack Frost?

Maybe adults like his cranky professor were a lost cause, but the poor grade only served to fuel his determination even further to become a children's writer someday. It just rankled him every time he came across such a stout nonbeliever of his winter spirit friend, though he knew he shouldn't really be taking their ignorance so personally.

Unfortunately, thinking of Jack only served to lower his mood even more. The Guardian had recently returned to his previous schedule of visiting only once a week, with the explanation that he was long due for maintaining winter in other parts of the world. Only a day, and Jamie was already missing the spirit's presence! At least it had been nice while it lasted, though he still hadn't gotten an explanation on what prompted the sudden daily visits.

"Whoa!" The brunette's thoughts were suddenly interrupted as he felt his feet slipping on ice. Maybe it hadn't been the best idea to come through this poorly maintained route, but he'd been wanting to catch a glimpse of the frozen waterfalls from the suspension bridge for some time.

Jamie suddenly stopped to stare as he finally managed to get his balance. Come to think of it, this path was starting to look awfully familiar for one that he'd never gone through before. He glanced back and only confirmed that yes, there was indeed an unusually decorated lamppost by the end of the bridge. But he definitely would have remembered this route considering it went by the only waterfall on the campus...

Looking farther down the route, Jamie suddenly realized when he'd been here before, though he'd been far too drunk to really appreciate the scenery. He felt his cheeks flushing in embarrassment as he remembered the horrors of Connor's party.

Jamie grimaced as he inadvertently remembered more details. That had probably been the worst party experience he'd ever had, and although he hadn't been one of the few unfortunates to vomit up their stomach contents all over the floor, he'd come very close to it. The day after he'd been so incapacitated he'd ended up skipping all of his classes.

He hadn't even remembered how he'd gotten home, though now that he was recognizing the scenery around him, he supposed he'd simply walked back. The fact that his memory had failed him so spectacularly however, had scared him enough into putting off the drinking for a while. Or forever.

As he continued to walk through the snow covered path, Jamie marveled at how he'd managed to keep himself from slipping and cracking his head open that night. This wasn't even a 'path' really, more of a walkway through the woods that only a few pairs of feet had traveled on. Rocks, twigs and other forest debris were everywhere, and one badly placed trip could have ended him. In fact, he found it hard to believe he'd managed to find his way through an unfamiliar route all by himself. Had someone walked him home?

Or flew him home? Now that he thought about it, he did remember someone throwing a snowball at his head, AND it was after that particular night that Jack had started coming by every day. Maybe it was because he'd said something to worry the winter spirit enough to check on him more frequently. But what could have been so bad that the Guardian refused to say just what that had been?

The brunette furrowed his eyebrows as he tried to remember what he'd said or done that night. He did remember that party being particularly bad because he'd been feeling especially depressed about Marron lately, and had wanted to get completely wasted. Maybe he'd said something about her? Unfortunately the only thing he could really remember was lying in a pile of snow, talking to a pair of blue lips...

Wait, what? Why had he been focusing on Jack's lips of all places?

Sudden shock jerked him to a stop as the memory returned to him at full force. Jamie felt himself slipping again, but didn't even consider trying to stop himself from falling as his mind was occupied with only a single bewildered thought:

_'Why the hell did I kiss Jack?'_


	14. History Lessons

_A/N: I present to you TWO drabbles! Though one is very short, and is actually not posted here, but accompanies my latest piece of RotG fanart in the link below. Please feel VERY free to give feedback on both! (take out spaces, replace bold with the actual characters) _

_sunatsubu **dot **deviantart **dot **com __**slash **_gallery **slash **# **slash **d5sqh5y

_Chapter notes: Sorry for any historical inaccuracies, history is NOT my strong point lol. If there are any incorrect facts, please let me know! The only reference used was this quickly googled article: listverse dot com /2011/07/14/top-10-important-events-in-us-history/  
_

_Edit: Okay, I fixed this from the original version, which basically ignored the fact that Apollo 11 was during the Cold War...lol thank you BexiLynn for pointing this out ^^;;  
_

* * *

**History Lessons**

It had been an agonizing week for Jamie. _Excruciatingly_ so, in fact. He didn't know what he'd say to Jack when he saw him again, especially considering the fact that there was no way the winter spirit had forgotten that kiss like he had. Which only brought forth even more questions - why hadn't he brought it up? But since he kept visiting afterwards, surely he was okay with it? Or maybe he hadn't brought it up because he didn't want to, and that meant he actually _hadn't_ been okay with it?

Jamie shook his head, struggling to focus on the task at hand. Of course these thoughts always chose to strike at the most inopportune times, like in the middle of doing homework for one of his worst classes. But it had been an entire week since his memories returned, and yet he felt like he was no closer to sorting out his feelings than during that fateful walk home. But he needed to be calm and sure of himself when he brought this up to Jack so he wouldn't simply start babbling like a fool...

"Argh!" Jamie yelled out before plonking his head down against the desk. Staring so closely at the illegible scribblings of his failed history essay only served to aggravate his frustration even more. God he hated history, why did he even pick this class? Oh right, because he thought it would give good source material for writing fiction, but did they have to make it so incredibly dry and boring?

A quick tapping noise interrupted his thoughts, and Jamie turned his head to see his Guardian friend perched on the window sill, grinning his head off. The brunette quickly fought down the rising panic as he moved to open the window.

"J-Jack! Hey, I thought you weren't coming until tomorrow..."

The winter spirit raised an eyebrow before hopping into the room. "Busy tonight? Is that why you're beating your head against the desk?" The amused grin returned, this time accompanied by a glint of mischief in ice blue eyes.

Sensing what Jack was planning, Jamie laughed loudly while keeping a wary eye out for any magical snowballs suddenly aiming for his face. "Ahaha, no, it's just this stupid essay I'm stuck on..." _Among other things..._

Jack scrunched his face up in a grimace at the most hated word. "Another _essay_? These things are starting to sound worse than Pitch!"

"Oh they're much worse." Jamie muttered. He turned back to his desk, expecting the pale-haired Guardian to begin poking around his room, the usual reaction to when he was too busy with homework to play. Normally he would have regretted this missed chance to spend time with his friend, except he couldn't help but feel relieved that maybe he wouldn't have to bring _that_ up tonight.

Just as he was about to starting writing again, the brunette yelped as he felt a sudden chill spreading over his right shoulder. Chocolate brown eyes widened as he realized Jack was currently floating over him, peering curiously at his half finished essay.

"So what are you writing about, then? Another Guardian story?"

Despite the cold that naturally came with the winter spirit's presence, Jamie felt his cheeks starting to flush. They weren't that close, but he was suddenly reminded of kissing those blue tinged lips which he could now clearly see. He found it ironic that the only thing he couldn't remember now was how the kiss had actually felt...

Jamie found himself watching, mesmerized, as Jack began to read his essay. The Guardian furrowed his eyebrows in concentration and his lips moved slightly as he mouthed some of the unfamiliar words aloud. The brunette couldn't help but notice the other boy's unusually long eyelashes, an observation that only made him blush even more.

Jack moved back as he finished reading, breaking the strange spell that seemed to have overcome him. "Well, that's an odd way to write about Manny, that's for sure." He commented, an amused smile on his face. "You got the date wrong though, it's 1969, not 68."

"O-oh, it's not supposed to be about the Man in the Moon...well I guess it is, but not as a Guardian. It's just a history essay about the space race..." Jamie trailed off as a thought occurred to him. "Wait, you're really old!" He suddenly exclaimed excitedly.

Jack winced at the seemingly random exclamation. "Hey, no need to remind me. Besides, you're the one who looks older than me anyway!"

"No no, I mean, you were there when it happened!"

"Well I wasn't there when they did it, it wasn't exactly winter in the US at that time-"

"But still! You had to have heard some things about it, it was such a major event that other countries had to have covered it in their news, and people would have talked about it forever even later in the year when you would have been back in the States-"

"Whoa, slow down Jamie!" Jack laughed at the desperate look the teen was currently giving him. "I can't help if you don't tell me what you're actually looking for!"

"Right right, sorry...but I'm just so bad at researching this kind of stuff, and I can't ever tell which article's actually being objective since most of the ones I'm finding are written by American authors. But since you were actually alive at the time, you could tell me just the pure facts!"

Jack shook his head in bemusement. He certainly hadn't expected to give a history lesson when he visited tonight, but after being bombarded by the shining hope practically emanating from his friend, how could he refuse?

An hour later found one tired but extremely happy brunette, and a slightly dry throated winter spirit.

"Wow, I don't think I've talked so much since...well, ever. And that's over 300 years I'm looking back on." Jack commented, voice slightly hoarse.

"Thaaaank yoou, you don't know how much you've saved me!" Jamie cried out, hugging the amused Guardian despite the chill. "If I didn't have enough to write about, I would have had to pick a different topic but it's way too late for that and I definitely wouldn't have finished in time..."

Maybe it was the sheer relief, happiness and adrenaline from finally completing his hated essay. Or maybe it was because Jack was currently standing directly in front of the lamp, creating a beautiful, almost ephemeral look to him. Thinking back, Jamie would never know why he did what he did, except that he probably wasn't thinking at all when he suddenly leaned forward and captured those slightly blue lips with his own.

Two pairs of eyes widened as both boys realized what had happened. Jack reacted first however, jumping out of Jamie's arms with a panicked look on his face. "Jamie, I...I..." The brunette could only watch, confused, as the winter spirit seemed to struggle with himself before giving him a look of pained devastation. "I'm so sorry..." He whispered before fleeing through the window.


	15. Age I: Too Young

_A/N: OMGASOFAPWEFHAF this is totally unrelated but I JUST BUILT MY VERY FIRST COMPUTER! Lol sorry I just had to share that...siiigh it was just such a great, satisfying feeling...A week of research, then 14 straight hours of backbreaking frustration, then the RUSH when I turned it on and it actually WORKED, gaaaahhhhhh XD XD XD Seriously, I almost cried haha  
_

_Okay back to stuff that you'll actually care about lol. Another fanart, more of a doodle really, up on my deviantart account. Since I figure you guys know the url by now I won't type it here, but it's entitled 'Kiss.'_

_Chapter notes: This is the first of a drabble trilogy entitled 'Age,' which will be sprinkled throughout the next few chapters. If it's not obvious, they touch on the inevitable issue of Jack being immortal while Jamie ages.  
_

_Enjoy, and remember that I love ANY kind of feedback! :) (except flames obviously)_

* * *

**Age I: Too Young**

_"What do you think she'll be like when she's all grown up? You know, with her own family and stuff?"_

Jack would never admit it aloud, but Bunny's words had actually made him think. In a rare instance of a serious discussion between the two, the topic of Sophie Bennett had come up - and the Easter Guardian's wistful question had prompted just a few of his own.

Or maybe just two, precisely. What would Jamie be like when he grew up? And how could he forget that Jamie _would_ grow up?

He didn't say them aloud, of course. As close as he was to all the Guardians now, he still wasn't quite comfortable openly discussing his current dilemma with Jamie, and how he felt towards the boy. So he'd mumbled the excuse that Canada was long due for a snow storm and quickly left in order to cover up his suddenly unsettled emotions.

Of course, it wasn't Canada that he'd headed towards, but straight towards Boston and a certain brown haired teen. Lighting on his usual branch, the young Guardian could see the boy was hard at work, furiously scribbling away on a sheet of paper and completely oblivious to his presence. Normally, the sight would have amused Jack and prompted him to tease his friend, but in his current mood, the winter spirit only clutched at his staff and stared through the window as if it could give him all the answers.

How could he forget? Of course, it wasn't as if he actually believed Jamie wouldn't grow up, but it had just never occurred to him seeing Jamie as an adult, then an old man. It was just that spending time with him now was all that he really thought about. It was pretty stupid of him, really, considering the fact that he'd watched the boy grow up for over 10 years.

Maybe it was because he was so used to his Guardian companions. Even before they'd become his friends, they had always been there. It wasn't like he ever wondered if North had finally died from old age every time he'd attempted to break into the man's abode, or if Sandman would ever grow taller. Jack realized that once he'd started interacting with Jamie, he had subconsciously applied the same mindset to him.

But he couldn't ignore anymore that Jamie was different, for more reasons than just being mortal. The winter spirit might have been naive about certain adult topics (which certainly amused Jamie to no end), but he'd had enough time to recognize how he felt about that damn kiss. Jamie had become far more than a friend to him. To what extent, he still didn't know, but that didn't matter.

It didn't matter, because how could he possibly dare to find out? If it didn't work, he could lose his friend. But if it did work, what would that mean for Jamie? Even if the brunette was willing to make the necessary sacrifices, how could Jack, as his friend, let him do so?

He'd never have a family. He would essentially, always be alone. Normal dates and outings would be out of the question. He would never be able to share the love and joy of being with his significant other. How could he, when no one else would be able to see him? Everyone would think Jamie was crazy.

Even if the brunette didn't care what others thought, how would he eventually begin to feel, to be stuck with an eternal teenager as he grew older and older? True, Jack was centuries older in actual age, but his center was Joy and Fun. It was his job, his nature, to act like a little kid.

Jack stared moodily down at his bare feet. It was ironic really, that for over three centuries, he'd struggled so hard to get someone to see him just for a few seconds. Now, he was worrying about the fact that someone could see him for the rest of his short mortal life.

But at least it was in his power to ensure Jamie could have something of a normal, easier life. They could still be friends of course, but only that. That was why he decided it was simply for the best to pretend like the kiss had never happened.

Watching Jamie suddenly bang his head against his desk, Jack decided that was his cue to interrupt. The winter spirit leaned forward to tap the window, grinning widely to hide the suddenly heavy feeling in his heart.


	16. Never Let Go

_A/N: Just to clarify, the previous chapter took place moments before chapter 14 History Lessons. There were hints here and there but sorry if it still wasn't clear..._

_Chapter notes: Not much to say (for once lol), except that I had a lot of fun writing this one. Hope you all enjoy reading it just as much! Please let me know what you think!_

* * *

**Never Let Go**

Three weeks.

That was how long it had been since he'd last seen Jack. It was certainly possible the winter spirit was simply busy from his duties - it was almost Christmas after all - but somehow, Jamie seriously doubted that. Only once, the Guardian had skipped out on him for more than two weeks, and he had made sure to let him know beforehand.

No, it had become painfully clear that Jack just wasn't visiting anymore.

Tears pricked Jamie's eyes, which he immediately, angrily swiped away. He didn't know who he was angry at more- himself for being so damn _impulsive_ or Jack for just up and leaving him with absolutely no explanation. Sure, maybe the other teen might have been disgusted at the thought of a relationship between two guys, but hadn't they been _friends_ first? Didn't he deserve something more than just a stuttered apology?

"Jerk..." Jamie whispered into his arms, staring at the puff of breath that materialized in the cold air. He didn't know why he'd come out here - if anything, he should've stayed in his room in case Jack decided to stop being so stubborn and came back. But for some reason the thought of just waiting again, alone in his room, was unbearable this time. He'd just end up stewing over his thoughts and working himself into a bitter mood.

Instead, he'd aimlessly wandered around campus, hoping the fresh air and lazily falling flurries of snow would help clear his thoughts. But of course, he'd gravitated towards the frozen lake where Jack had given him his first skating lesson and ended up moping anyway.

_My_ only _skating lesson_. Jamie couldn't help but think bitterly as he glared across the shimmering ice. Hadn't the Guardian promised him they would do that again? So where was he now?

Suddenly feeling defiant, he abruptly stood up and resolutely walked towards the edge of the lake. Carefully, he stepped onto the frozen surface, feeling his boots struggling to find traction against the ice as he slowly made his way towards the center.

He didn't know what he was doing, skating on a lake out in the woods, without even wearing proper skates, in the dead of the night. Maybe he just felt he needed to move, do _something_ to dissipate the hurt and anger that had built up over the last few weeks. But the more he slid across the ice, seeing and feeling the tiny flurries of snow hitting his face, the more he was reminded of a grinning winter spirit, teasing him about how bad he was at keeping his balance.

Jamie suddenly skidded to a halt, glaring up at the sky with tears in his eyes, not even bothering to wipe them away this time. "You _promised_ me!" He burst out angrily. "You promised you'd teach me how to skate, you promised we could do this again! Does that mean you lied when you said we would? Was everything you told me a lie?!"

He had no idea why he was screaming about the skating lessons, of all things. He should've been yelling about why Jack had just left him, why they couldn't still be just friends, why they couldn't even have one last talk before Jack left him forever, why why why...but what did it matter? It wasn't like the Guardian was actually out there to hear him. He'd never be there anymore, he'd never get to see him again...

Slowly, Jamie sank to his knees, placing his palms against the ice to stare at his blurry reflection. He squeezed his eyes tightly, the hot tears almost scalding against his cheeks in contrast to the sharp, biting cold.

A sudden rush of wind ruffled through his hair, followed by a pair of pale, bare feet landing in front of him. Jamie quickly looked up to see an uncomfortably shifting winter spirit, and a conflicting mix of joy and anger bubbled within him.

"Jack!"

The pale-haired Guardian quickly took a step back as Jamie stood up to meet him, hands held up in an almost defensive gesture. The sight only made Jamie angrier, and he rushed forward, barely managing to keep his balance on the ice.

Of course, things didn't quite go as planned, as Jamie felt himself slipping almost immediately. So instead of grabbing his friend in a firm hug, what resulted was a painful collision that sent both boys crashing to the ground, Jack's staff digging painfully into Jamie's side. An apology was the last thing on his mind however, as he shouted down at the shocked Guardian beneath him.

"Why are you always trying to _leave_ me? Why can't you stay for once, and just tell me _why_..." He trailed off, choking on his own words. "I'm sorry about the kiss, okay? If it disgusted you, I-"

"No!" Jack shouted so suddenly, Jamie was startled into silence. "It wasn't because of that! It's just..." He paused again, looking away. When he turned to meet Jamie's gaze once more, his ice blue eyes were filled with anguish. "Did you ever think about what this could mean? I'm _immortal_, Jamie. I'll never grow old with you, I'll never be able to love you the way a human can. We can't just go out to the movies, hang out with your friends, or...or go to family dinners. Most of your family and friends won't even be able to _see_ me! Even if I'm there with you, you'll still be alone!" At those last words, Jack struggled to escape from Jamie's grip. "And let go of me!"

"Why! So you can fly away again?" Jamie responded just as heatedly. "How is it fair for you to say all that, without hearing what I have to say?"

"I didn't-"

"And how is it fair that you decided all of that for me, huh? Isn't it my choice to make, whether I want that life or not?"

Frustrated at his unsuccessful attempts to escape, Jack shouted the only words that came to mind. "Well, do you?!"

"YES!"

A moment of dead silence followed the resounding shout as Jack was rendered speechless, only able to stare up into determined chocolate brown eyes.

When Jamie finally spoke again, it was with a soft, gentle voice as if he was afraid to disturb the sudden stillness that had overcome them. "Give me some credit, Jack. Of course I know you're immortal. And since when have we ever done normal things together anyway? If anything, I should be worried that you wouldn't want to stay with me once I'm all old and wrinkly."

"I wouldn't care what you look like-"

"But you think I would?" Jamie interrupted. "I don't come across as that shallow, do I?"

Jack couldn't help but give a small smile at the puppy dog look now directed at him. Encouraged by the gesture, Jamie continued hopefully. "So can't we just give it a try? Please?"

For a few seconds, Jack didn't respond, only staring up at him with those intense blue eyes. Just when Jamie was starting to get a little worried, the Guardian suddenly let out a delighted laugh and wrapped his arms around the brunette. The winter spirit hesitated only a fraction of a second before leaning upwards, capturing his lips in a surprisingly warm kiss.

Jamie immediately responded, snaking his hands through pure white locks of hair and drawing the other teen even closer. He hardly cared or noticed that doing so brought forth a sudden wave of chills - all he could focus on was the single heated point at which their lips were joined.

In the back of his mind, he knew they still had a lot of things to work out, both together and on his own. Being in a relationship with an immortal being was going to be quite tricky after all, and would undoubtedly come with a slew of uncertainties neither of them had thought of yet. But lying there on the freezing ice, snow gently whirling around them as they continued to kiss, Jamie only tightened his hold around Jack and fiercely promised to himself that he would never let go.


	17. POV: Sandy

_A/N: Usually I try to respond to reviews individually, but this time I also wanted to give a general response thanking all of you for your lovely reviews! The ones for the last chapter especially, because they reminded me why I love to write in the first place - just for the gratifying, but also humbling feeling that mere written words are able to evoke emotions (in this case, such happiness that our boys finally got together! hehehe) in so many readers. Unfortunately sometimes I forget that purpose, so it was refreshing and inspiring to be reminded of it again. Lol this is kind of sappy, but that is how I feel! So again, thanks!_

_Anyway, mooaar art! Requested by Phoenixica24, the hug from Chapter 8/9: __sunatsubu **dot** deviantart **dot** com **slash** art **slash** Frozen-Tears-358849030_  


_Chapter notes: I kinda stuck two drabbles together since they came to me at once, and they're both short and related anyway. Enjoy!_

* * *

**POV: Sandy**

Though he has been at his job for longer than any of the other Guardians, Sandy doesn't think he'll ever get tired of it. Perhaps it's because of how unique each and every child was; no dream was exactly the same, even from the same individual on different nights. It was amazing just how boundless their imaginations could be.

In fact, without that very imagination, he wouldn't have much of a job. Contrary to most of the other Guardians' impressions, his unofficial title as 'dream-maker' was slightly misleading - he didn't actually make any of the dreams. No, they were built off of what was already planted deep within the child's subconscious mind, spun into reality just for the night.

That was also the reason he was a Guardian of children, and not adults. It wasn't that he didn't care, but it was much harder and disheartening to spin the dreams of such world-weary souls. They were much more prone to the darkness that was far more suited to a certain Nightmare King. No, he preferred those whose minds were still pure, full of innocence and laughter.

Once in a while though, this did include a few adults. Of course it certainly didn't surprise him that Jamie Bennett was one of them, considering his experience with the Guardians. And on this particular night, Sandy sensed his dream sand spinning something from the boy quite enthusiastically.

Curious despite himself, the small Guardian flew to where Jamie was currently residing, entering his bedroom to observe just what his sand was forming around the brunette. He couldn't help but smile as he recognized the two golden figures, laughing and throwing small golden snowballs at each other. One of them suddenly became indignant and tackled the other to the ground, small miniature golden staff flying off and disappearing in a small puff of sand. Sandy wondered if he should find Jack to show him this rather amusing scene, if only to let the young Guardian know that Jamie Bennett still thought of him.

Golden eyes suddenly widened as he realized what the two figures were now doing. Feeling a heated blush spreading across his cheeks, the oldest Guardian hightailed it out of the room faster than the speed of light. Perhaps he didn't need to tell Jack anything, as it seemed from Jamie's dreams that they were already seeing each other...

One thing was for sure, Jamie was definitely not a child anymore.

* * *

"...and then North wants you to send some more snow to the DC area, they haven't had a White Christmas in - Jack! What are you doing!"

Jack nearly jumped out of his seat at Tooth's sudden cry. "What, what?" He looked around frantically, confused at her sudden urgency.

She gestured towards his lap, and Jack looked down to see that he had forgotten to control his body temperature, and thus had started to freeze the tips of Baby Tooth's wings. Hastily, he thawed her out, feeling quite guilty indeed as she began to chatter indignantly at him. "Oops, sorry Baby Tooth..."

"Jack, what's going on? You haven't been paying attention at all since you got here!" Tooth watched, concerned, as the winter Guardian simply blushed, a strange look coming across his face. "Jack?"

"Uh sorry Tooth, I've just been...a little distracted. I just need to um, go clear my head so I'll head over to...where did North want me to go again? Chicago?"

"DC, mate. DC. For the fifth time." Bunny said dryly.

"Right, right. See ya!"

Tooth sighed as their youngest member left in a flurry of snowflakes. She turned to her two other companions, clasping her hands together in worry. "Do you think he's okay? He hasn't been himself lately."

"Well, at least he's not depressed anymore." Bunny commented, not even batting an eyelid as one of North's elves stumbled past him with cookie dough plastered all over his face.

"But now it's like he's off in another world! North asked him the other day to send some snow to Charleston, and he went and made a storm over Cleveland! And sometimes when I talk to him, it's like he's not even paying attention!" Tooth cried out, distressed.

"I'm sure he's fine, Tooth. Every time he spaces out, he's got this stupid grin on his face."

Sandy only watched, amused, as the other two Guardians speculated on what could be causing Jack's odd behavior. He could try to tell them of course, but it was definitely more fun this way.

Then again, it would be interesting to see their reactions if he showed them Jamie's dream from the other night...


	18. One Last Time

_Hmm I noticed a sudden influx of reviews/favs/follows, which was an interesting trend...either that last chapter was particularly good, or it was because the DVD came out last Tuesday. As much as I'd like to flatter myself, I think it's the second, which still makes me happy since more RotG fans = more potential fanart/fanfics to go around! Hehe_

_Also, I'm sooo sorry for the somewhat slow updates, and I'm trying to be very strict with myself to never go more than 2 weeks without updating. I think I didn't break that yet lol...but next chapter I do promise to have within a week!_

_Art: New art up on deviantart, entitled Kiss II (creative, I know). A possible preview of what is to come XD It does have a mature filter on though, so unless you have a deviantart account you won't be able to see it. Sorry!_

_Chapter notes: Sooo, I was kinda on the fence about doing Jack's POV during the first half of Never Let Go, but decided to go ahead anyway thanks to Rosie Denn's request. Enjoy!_

* * *

**One Last Time**

He watched Jamie mope. He watched him cry. And all the while, never had Jack felt like he had so spectacularly failed as a Guardian. He himself was directly responsible for stealing the joy out of one boy's life. He was the reason Jamie didn't smile anymore.

Still, he waited and waited for Jamie to move on, trying not to think of how painful that moment would be. He probably could have made it easier for himself by avoiding the other boy altogether, but somehow Jack felt he owed it to Jamie to watch over him until he knew he would be okay.

And then, Jack told himself, then he would never visit again. It had only been three weeks - a meager fraction of his life span, yet how many times had he been tempted to give in and show himself? With his rapidly weakening self control, there was no way he wouldn't give in at least within the next few years. Maybe in a decade or two, when Jamie would surely have settled happily with someone else...

Jack clutched at his chest at the sudden pang in his heart. He squeezed his eyes tightly shut, his immortal body still able to produce tears that froze into tiny gems before falling to the ground. The image of the brunette smiling, laughing, being in love with someone else...it made him feel worse than when the other Guardians turned from him in disappointment. Worse even, than the loneliness that had festered and built over the course of 300 years.

But at least he'd have an eternity to get over it. Jamie was the one who had a limited life span, one that would be filled with difficulties if he selfishly decided to stay in his life. No, better that he experience this temporary pain so that he would be free to find someone else...someone mortal like him...

It was a reasonable, logical thought process that seemed to make far more sense when he was by himself. At the moment though, watching Jamie screaming to him from the middle of the frozen lake, all Jack could really think of was how miserable they both were, and the unexplainable feeling that he was being a coward somehow.

He watched, pained, as Jamie slowly sank to his knees, staring through the ice as if he could find hope in the frozen depths below. The sight was eerily familiar, and the pale haired Guardian was suddenly reminded of the blurry image of his sister, crying and calling his name from the surface of the frozen lake. Even as he sank further into the darkness, watching her fade away, he had wished with all his heart that he could comfort her one last time.

At that moment, three weeks of his hard kept resolve completely disappeared, and Jack found himself jumping onto a passing breeze.

_I'll just talk to him...one last time._


	19. Practice Makes Perfect

_I'm making a Jack Frost cosplay! I've only started on the staff so far, but it's already so much fun...probably because I hate sewing, and this costume is more painting and constructing and such. GOD I CAN'T WAIT TO WEAR IT AND ITS NOT EVEN LIKE 2% FINISHED YET lol_

_Chapter notes: Because shy/embarrassed Jack is just too cute..._

_Also, I'm really sorry I can't write kiss scenes...I'm really trying tho.. T_T_

* * *

**Practice Makes Perfect**

"How come you never kiss me?"

Jack abruptly stopped what he was doing, hand freezing in the middle of turning a page. The paper crinkled slightly as he subconsciously tightened his grip. "What are you talking about? We kiss all the time!" He laughed nervously.

"No, _I_ kiss _you_ all the time." Jamie retorted briskly. He swiveled his chair around to face the other boy currently stretched out on his bed, and fully focused on him with an intent stare.

"I kissed you that time on the lake-"

"Yeah, that was just once. After that, it's always been me."

"Oh come on Jamie, I'm sure I've kissed you other times too. Are you keeping track or something? That's silly, now can I get back to reading this? You're the one who asked me to make sure you wrote the other Guardians right."

Jamie stared, the wheels in his head turning as he watched Jack duck his head into the pages, cheeks slightly red. Slowly, a grin spread across his face as it hit him. "What exactly are you embarrassed about?"

An ice blue eye peeked over the now crinkled manuscript, followed by a loud sigh that resulted in dropping the room temperature by a few degrees.

"It's not like I have a ton of experience with it. The last time I probably kissed someone was over 300 years ago, okay?"

"Probably?"

"Well I can't exactly remember if I ever did or not..."

The grin on Jamie's face widened even more. "So it's possible I'm your first!"

Jack rolled his eyes. "Like I said, I don't remember."

"Why don't you just check your tooth box?"

"I doubt Tooth's going to approve of using it for such a frivolous reason...it's not some TV channel I turn on whenever I feel like it."

By now, Jamie had directed his full attention to the conversation, homework completely forgotten. "Why not? It's your memories after all. Besides, I'm curious, if you did kiss someone, what did they look like? It's not anyone who can be jealous of someone over 300 hundred years old!"

"You are so weird..."

Jamie stuck his tongue out in response. Elbows propped up on the back of his chair, the brunette watched the winter spirit return to reading, tongue sticking out slightly as he struggled over some of the words.

Jack yelped as he felt a sudden weight fall next to him on the bed, nearly launching his light body into the air. He turned to address the grinning face now only inches from his own, dry amusement evident in his voice. "I'm never going to finish this if you keep interrupting."

"If you're self-conscious about something, you know what they say. Practice makes perfect!"

"...are you saying I need practice? So I _am_ bad at it!"

"Wait no, I didn't mean it like that-" Jamie said quickly. "I just wanted-"

His hasty explanation was abruptly cut short as cold lips pressed against his own. Chocolate brown eyes slowly closed as Jamie automatically brought his hands up, threading them through silvery white locks as he drew the other boy closer to him.

By the time they broke apart, Jamie was slightly breathless as he met the pale haired Guardian's defiant stare.

A few seconds of silence passed before Jamie suddenly shot the other boy a mischievous grin. "Well it was better than the first time at least-"

He was immediately cut off by the pillow smacking into his face.


	20. Jealousy

_A/N: So as I mentioned before, I'm making a Jack Frost cosplay. I wanted to start working on the wig, but considering my minimal experience in that, does anyone have suggestions for what brand of hair styling gel I should use? The last time I just bought a 'whatever' brand, it was barely strong enough to keep the shape for half a day. _

_New art up called 'Flight'! sunatsubu **dot** deviantart **dot** com **slash** art **slash** Flight-363766165  
_

_Chapter notes: This was inspired by a friend wondering aloud: if Jack ever went out with someone, wouldn't he have to deal with a million jealous fairies?_

_Though by the end of this, I started to feel bad for Jamie lol..._

* * *

**Jealousy**

The first time, he was confused.

The second time, he was amused.

By the fifth time however, Jamie was beginning to get very irritated, and unfortunately Jack was the one to get the brunt of it.

"Jack."

The winter spirit paused at the unexpectedly stern greeting, only halfway through Jamie's window. "Uh...yes?" He stared at Jamie's frowning face, racking his brain for what he might've done wrong recently.

"What exactly do the tooth fairies have against me?"

Jack let out a surprised laugh. "What?"

"I'm serious. You see Tooth a lot, don't you? Why do her fairies hate me? Does Tooth hate me?"

Despite the clear irritation on Jamie's face, Jack couldn't stop grinning. But perhaps it wouldn't help the brunette's mood if he commented on how cute he looked when pouting. "Of course she doesn't hate you. And I have no idea why her fairies would hate you either. Why-" He suddenly paused, remembering something.

"Oh, well actually, I think some of them had a crush on me. Maybe they found out about us?" That was somewhat worrisome for various reasons, but Jack pushed it to the back of his mind for now.

"Some? Or all?"

"Uh, not sure...but what made you think they hate you in the first place?"

Without a word, Jamie slowly reached over to his bed and lifted the pillow, revealing numerous, sparkling little piles...of trash.

Jack couldn't help it. It was probably the long suffering look on Jamie's face, or the realization that the floor was actually littered with more bits and pieces of junk, but the young Guardian was unable to hold it in any longer and burst out laughing.

"It's not funny!"

Jamie's petulant cry only made it worse, and Jack felt himself keeling over as he struggled to contain his mirth.

"Hahahahaa...I'm sorry, hahaha...ok, I'm stopping now..." But the young Guardian made the mistake of glancing at Jamie's face and simply lost it all over again.

By the time Jack managed to regain control of himself, Jamie was tapping his foot, arms crossed and clearly not amused.

Jack grinned apologetically, floating over to ruffle the sulking brunette's hair. "Aw, come on. I'm sorry, really. Look, how about I help you? I have the _perfect_ prank I've wanted to try on them for the longest time, and it'll make them think twice about invading your room!"

"What?! Prank the _tooth fairies_? Jack, are you trying to get them to hate me even more?!"

"Nah, they'll forget about it eventually. Probably. Anyway, don't you just want them to stop leaving junk under your pillow?"

"Well yes, but-"

"Great! Then come on, help me set it up..."

* * *

The next morning at the Tooth Palace was a very confusing one indeed, as Toothiana unsuccessfully tried to figure out just why the majority of her little helpers returned to her so disgruntled, and completely covered in sparkling white glitter.


	21. Time

_Sooo someone pointed out Jack is actually the Guardian of Fun...lol which is true! I don't know where I got the Guardian of Joy, I think I've seen a lot of other fanfic writers refer to him that way...but yeaahh, will be fixing that reference from now on. :P Probably not going to fix past references though, too lazy haha_

_Anyway sorry if I didn't manage to reply to your review! I wasn't quite as good as keeping up with replying this time, but I promise I read and treasure every single one of them! :) And extra thanks to those who gave me some cosplay tips. It's veerrrry slowly coming along lol...staff is almost finished! I'll probably start posting some WIP photos on deviantart._

_Chapter notes: What must it be like, to have an eternity to deal with your ghosts?_

_Thanks to ClumsyPinkTiger for proofreading and the encouragement! _

_Enjoy!_

* * *

**Time**

For a Guardian, the passage of time was very different. Immortality and the prospect of eternity tended to drastically change one's perspective on such things. For Jack, knowing he would live forever only made him live more in the present. Why plan for the rest of your life if there was no limit to it?

Of course, things didn't start out that way. He hadn't known he was immortal at first, after all. Those first few days after emerging from the ice were filled with nothing but confusion. Who was he? Why couldn't anyone see him? How was he going to survive all by himself?

He'd realized pretty quickly that he didn't need to eat. That at least, had taken away a large chunk of his worries that consisted of simply surviving. Of course, it had only added the question of _what_ he was in addition to who.

The next revelation was that he didn't age. That one had taken several years to realize, for obvious reasons. At least that had been more of a gradual realization, so once his suspicions had been confirmed, it wasn't as much of a shock. No, it only brought forth a different kind of fear - the knowledge that he might live forever, and never know _why_. How could he possibly deal with an eternity of unanswered questions?

At first he'd worried about it. He was constantly reminded of it. Glimpsing his eternally young features reflected in his own ice, seeing families filled with both the young and old, watching villages and towns change over time. Everywhere he turned, his immortality was always being shoved in his face. He had truly believed at one point that he would actually go insane.

Slowly slowly, he'd learned to cope. After all, there was nothing he could really do about it. Only when he was able to push the worries, confusion, even the loneliness to the back of his mind was he able to just live and enjoy the present. He had even started to have _fun_, playing with any children he could find, despite his invisibility. He could _forget_.

He managed to settle into something of a routine. Only every few years his mind would simply break, and everything he'd pushed to the back would come rushing forth like the raging torrents of a waterfall. He'd then struggle for weeks - sulking, freezing things, yelling at the moon - before he'd manage to shove all the negative emotions back once more.

Jack stared down morosely at the lake of his birth. Recovering his memories and becoming a Guardian should have solved everything. He'd gotten his answers - he knew who he was, he knew his purpose, and he would never feel loneliness again. But instead, his old questions were only replaced by new ones. They focused on that crying girl he'd left behind, on this very lake over 300 years ago - what had happened to her after he had died? What kind of life had she lived? How badly had his death affected her?

The young Guardian sighed, turning away from the lake. He knew he would get over it eventually. Regaining his memories had made it feel as if he had lost her all over again, and he just missed his sister. So he really didn't think much of it when he fell into his usual habit of wallowing in angst every couple years or so.

In retrospect, the winter spirit should have been more careful. After all, he was basically rendering himself completely vulnerable during those few weeks of weakness, and after a few centuries, someone was bound to notice his habits. It was just unfortunate that the first to do so happened to be the Nightmare King.


	22. Age II: Too Old

_A/N: Ahhhh I'm sooo sorry for the delay! Was on a business trip overseas, then after that had to catch up on so much stuff, both personal/work related thanks to my hotel having absolutely no internet connection. Blech...that kind of situation really makes you realize how dependent we are on internet. -_- Thanks so much for your patience!_

_Chapter notes: I'm assuming Sophie is 4-5 years younger than Jamie._

* * *

**Age II: Too Old**

Jamie wished, not for the first time, that his sister could have stayed exactly the way she'd been eight years ago. Or five years, even. It was as if highschool had suddenly flipped a switch in her, resulting in this stranger who seemed determined to drive their mom crazy.

"Hey, Jamie. You alright?"

Jamie turned to greet the winter spirit currently lounging on his window sill. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just got off the phone with my mom...seems like my sister's been driving her nuts again." He sighed wearily.

"Really? Sophie?" A look of puzzlement came over Jack's face. It was obvious he couldn't match the image of a troublemaker to the sweet little girl he'd encountered so long ago.

Jamie laughed, glad to feel his stress already beginning to fade away. "Oh don't worry, it's nothing dramatic. She's probably just going through a phase, that's all. I bet I did the same thing in high school too. Still, sometimes I wish she was still 5 years old."

Jamie watched curiously as an odd look flitted across Jack's face. "People...change." He murmured softly, clutching at his staff.

"Jack?"

The young Guardian shook his head, snow white locks falling across his eyes. "Sorry. Just thinking."

"About what?"

The silence that followed was so long that Jamie wondered if the other was even going to answer. Just as he was about to open his mouth to speak however, soft words nearly made him freeze in place. "My sister."

Jamie didn't respond right away, mind racing. It was rare indeed for Jack to ever bring up his human past, and he didn't want to say anything to scare him away from the topic again. "You had a sister?" He winced as the words inadvertently left his mouth. That was the best he could come up with?

Thankfully, it seemed to be the right words, as Jack gave a small smile. "Yeah, I did. She was 5 when I saw her last - same as Sophie when I first met her." He paused again, as if deciding on something.

Sensing what it might be, Jamie asked softly, "What was she like?"

It was as if an invisible wall came down. Jack's bright blue eyes simply lit up as he excitedly began to talk about his sister. Jamie couldn't help but smile at the love Jack clearly still felt for that long gone little girl, as he told story after story of what they used to do together. At the same time, it made him wonder something he'd managed to push to the back of his mind for some time now.

How would things change between them when he grew older? Would it be strange for Jack to see him as a grown adult? The winter spirit was the Guardian of Fun - how much fun would he have hanging out with an old man? He couldn't be immortalized at one age as Jack's sister had been, after all. Perhaps the only disadvantage to being more than a memory.

Well no matter what, he would still love Jack for the rest of his life. He knew he was still young - many would say he just hadn't experienced enough of life yet, that this could very possibly be nothing more than puppy love. But it was something he just knew from the bottom of his heart, just as he knew when he'd stepped in front of the Guardians that he could protect them from Pitch Black.

Still, he feared being nothing more than a blip in Jack's long, immortal life.

"...and then oh my god, it was so cute, she actually licked my mom's face because she thought everyone was supposed to show affection that way, not just dogs..."

Then again, it had been over 3 centuries, and it was clear Jack still loved his sister, just as much as he did when she was alive. He could only hope for the same place in Jack's heart - to be loved and remembered long after he was gone.


	23. Nightmares of Past I

_A/N: Blehh, had a hard time coming up with a title for this one...might change it later. Anyway, enjoy, and as usual constructive feedback is always appreciated! :)  
_

* * *

**Nightmares of Past I**

"Wow, can you believe it's still snowing?"

Jamie lifted his head from his textbook and turned to look out his window. Chocolate brown eyes widened in surprise as he spotted a certain winter spirit looking quite comfortable on his tree branch. As if sensing the attention, Jack turned to meet his gaze, grinning widely as he waved hello.

Jamie rolled his eyes but waved back, making sure his friends didn't see. He'd told Jack about his late night study group every Wednesday, but it seemed the pale haired Guardian had forgotten. Now he had to figure out a not so obvious way to get his friends out of his room...

As he waited for a reasonable time to bring the study session to an end, the brunette's mind wandered back to his friend's innocent observation, which made him wonder something else.

Why was Jack still in Boston?

Normally it wouldn't have bothered him if it weren't for the fact that he knew Jack wasn't tending to other parts of the world as was his duty. Sam, who still had family in Chile, had mentioned it was still almost as warm as summer there. When he'd asked Jack about it, the Guardian had been surprisingly evasive, and had quickly (and quite obviously) changed the topic. Jamie hadn't given it much thought at the time.

But then he started noticing things...small oddities every time Jack came to visit. Like the way he'd occasionally stare off into space, eyes unfocused as if he were lost in his thoughts. Or the fact that he'd been visiting almost every day now, which was definitely a record. But what unsettled him most was the way Jack seemed to linger when it was time for him to leave - not because he wanted to stay longer and spend more time with him as Jamie would have liked, but almost as if he was _afraid_ to leave.

It was as if Jack continued to visit him - shirking his winter duties in the process - in order to keep his mind off of something else. In fact, the Guardian had started acting strangely ever since that one conversation they'd had about Jack's sister so he suspected it had something to do with her. What frustrated Jamie was that the winter spirit acted as if nothing was going on, acting completely oblivious whenever Jamie tried to ask what was wrong.

Well, tonight would be different. Seeing that his friends had finished the current chapter, Jamie quickly took the chance to give a huge yawn. "Wow guys, it's getting pretty late...want to call it a night?"

Thankfully, it actually was late enough that everyone readily agreed. Jamie resisted the urge to fidget as his friends slowly took their time packing their things, lingering about to chat. By the time they'd finally filed out of his room, the brunette was so wired from his impatience that he nearly ran to his window.

"Hey Jack...were you waiting long? I told you I had a study group Wednesday nights, remember?"

"Oh right, I forgot - sorry about that." The winter spirit grinned as he jumped into the room, clearly not very sorry at all. He tossed aside his staff and immediately jumped into Jamie's bed, snuggling into the blankets.

Jamie smiled at the adorable sight - for some reason, Jack had taken quite a liking to his bed. He wondered why, considering it was a standard dorm mattress, and thus not exactly the most comfortable in the world. Well, he certainly didn't mind - it was a little warm today, and a winter spirit rolling about in his sheets would chill them quite nicely.

Remembering his plan, the brunette adopted a look of determination as he crawled onto his bed as well. Before Jack had the chance to sit up again, Jamie quickly positioned himself directly above the other teen, hands on either side of Jack's head. "Jack. Tell me what's wrong." He said firmly.

Blue eyes widened in surprise before narrowing again as Jack chuckled. "What are you talking about? Nothing's wrong."

"Yes, there is. Stop pretending, do you really think I can't tell? _Something_ has been on your mind, and I know it's bothering you somehow."

Jack laughed again, moving to rise and gently push the brunette out of the way. But Jamie refused to allow the issue to be pushed aside again, and he quickly grabbed two cold wrists and held them down against the mattress.

"Jamie, what are you doing-"

Jack cut himself off, holding his breath as the brunette slowly leaned in until their lips were mere centimeters from each other. Just when he thought the suspense would kill him, Jamie whispered, "I'm not letting you up until you tell me." Jamie grinned as he moved his face away, a mischievous look on his face.

Feeling cheated somehow, Jack rolled his eyes. "Funny, aren't you. But if I recall right, you've never won against me in a wrestling match. Sooo you should probably let go."

"That's because you just make yourself too cold to touch, not because you're stronger than me. And this time, I'm ready for it."

"Uh huh, okay sure. Really Jamie, let go." Jack insisted, beginning to squirm. True to his word, the blankets underneath his captive wrists began to show signs of frost and the winter spirit grinned in triumph, expecting Jamie to release him.

To his surprise, those warm hands only tightened, even as a flicker of pain flashed across Jamie's face. Jack immediately stopped smiling and returned the temperature to normal. "Stupid! What are you doing, do you want to get frostbite?!" He shouted. By now, he started to struggle in earnest, though it did nothing against the strong hands holding him down. "Dammit Jamie, let go!"

Jamie quickly obeyed, startled by the shout. He sat back, surprised and hurt, as the Guardian quickly leapt up, grabbed his staff, and zipped out the window without so much as a proper goodbye.

It was only few minutes after Jack had left that Jamie realized something. The Guardian was no stronger nor weaker than himself when it came to raw, physical strength. So why had it been so easy to hold him down?


	24. Nightmares of Past II

_A/N: Well, it's been a while. ^^;; And I have no really good excuse, except that I became unhealthily addicted to Supernatural. Totally crossing fandoms here, but if anyone reading this also loves Supernatural (CASTIEL IN PARTICULAR ::loooooooove::), TALK TO MEEEEE lol I need to spaz about the final episode! It is driving me craaaaazy..._

_Chapter notes: Sorry if I totally screwed up writing Toothiana...just know that it was my first attempt writing her!_

* * *

**Nightmares of Past II**

_"...unusually low temperatures for this time of year..."_

_"...speculations of global warming effects drastically increasing..."_

_"...conservationists especially concerned about the polar regions and the numerous endangered species...ice melting at a much faster rate..."_

"Dude, want to join us sometime this century? Study for your stupid environmental class later!" Sam's loud voice suddenly scolded him, clearly annoyed at his lack of attention.

Jamie sighed and set aside his phone, giving one last reluctant glance at the latest article he'd been reading. He was still itching to finish, but Sam was right, it wasn't fair to the others to get distracted during their group study sessions. Still, with the way his mind had been going he knew pretty well that he'd hardly get anything done today.

He was becoming obsessed. Anytime he heard the tiniest bit of news concerning the mild winters all over the globe, he couldn't help but pounce looking for anything, _anything_ that might give him a clue as to where his winter spirit might have gone.

Almost a month had passed, and he had nothing to show for his efforts but more worry and an irrational fear that Jack was -

No. No, he was fine. If anything had happened to Jack, he would definitely have heard about it from the other Guardians, right? They knew how close they were, so they'd at least have the courtesy to let him know, right?

Still, it didn't hurt to make sure, Jamie reasoned. Which was why, a few hours later after his friends had left, he found himself staring out the window, feeling slightly foolish for what he was about to do.

"Uh, Sandman? Can you hear me? This is Jamie Bennett...you know, Jack's friend." He started off weakly. People probably didn't _pray_ to Sandman, but he had figured that if the dreamgiver's job consisted of reaching millions of minds at a time with his sand, he had to have some kind of feedback system that might pick up his thoughts and voice.

"I know I'm not a kid anymore...so you probably don't have any reason to watch over me, or even listen to me. But...I'm really worried. About Jack. He was acting a little strangely the last time I saw him, which was a month ago - and he usually visits every week, at least. Could you, um...well, check on him for me? And maybe let me know how he's doing? Please?"

Silence.

Jamie sighed, shoulders slumping heavily. Well, he knew it had been a long shot, but it was still disappointing. Just as he was about to get ready for bed however, a small box resting on top of his bookshelf caught his eye. Slowly, a grin formed on his face as an idea came to him.

* * *

Baby Tooth knew her duties quite well - retrieve any and all teeth found underneath the pillows of sleeping children whilst leaving coins behind in exchange. Of course, it could be said that the word 'children' in that sense was a bit subjective - after all, baby teeth usually fell out by age 13, but there were the rare and few who might still be losing them at age 15. And though it was uncommon, there were still some at that age who believed in the Tooth Fairy. So to make it easier for her and her millions of fellow fairies, they went by the simple guideline of collecting from any sleeping human that had teeth under their pillows.

It was for this reason that Baby Tooth found herself hovering curiously over a familiar face, a slight grimace crossing her tiny features as she remembered the last time she'd seen this particular human. Scrubbing out the glitter from her feathers had been quite tedious...but why was Jamie Bennett still putting teeth under his pillows? How did he still have teeth to put there in the first place?

Both questions were quickly answered as she struggled to pull out the enormous third molar. Though it wasn't the sheer size and weight of the large tooth that she struggled with, but the bulky piece of paper attached to it.

The little fairy figured Toothiana would probably want to see this.

* * *

It didn't take long for the Guardian of Memories to respond to his message. In fact, Jamie noted with a grin, she responded very quickly, squeezing into his dorm room the very next night. He thanked his lucky stars that on a whim, he'd decided to hold onto his wisdom teeth after they'd been pulled out.

"Jamie! How you've grown!" Toothiana exclaimed, rushing forward to give the human a warm hug. Jamie laughed, then sneezed as he felt soft feathers brushing up against his nose.

"Thanks, it's nice to see you too, Tooth. I take it you got my note?"

At the words, the fairy's bright expression dimmed slightly. "I did. But I'm afraid to tell you that we don't know much ourselves."

"What?" Jamie drew back from Tooth's embrace, feeling panic creeping in.

Tooth sighed. "We haven't seen Jack in a few weeks either. Which is why I was really happy to get your message - you said you may know what's going on with him?"

Jamie fidgeted, feeling slightly guilty at hearing his own words repeated to him. He briefly wondered if there was going to be some kind of repercussions for lying to a Guardian. Well at least it hadn't been to Santa, then he would've made the naughty list..."Well, not exactly...um, I only said that to make sure you came. BUT!" He continued hastily at seeing the resulting look of dismay, "The last time I did see him, he was acting strangely. And I think for some reason, it has something to with his sister."

"His sister?" Tooth echoed, the confusion evident in her voice.

"Well, it's really just a speculation," Jamie started hesitantly. "But a few weeks before he stopped visiting, he seemed to be distracted by something. Nothing too serious though, just seemed a little spacey once in a while. Then we somehow got to talking about his sister...and that was the only time he didn't seem distracted. It was the first time in a while that I'd seen him so animated. But then after that..." Jamie paused, feeling a pang as he remembered.

"...it got worse. He would space out even more, maybe even snap at you for no reason, and at times appear to be really really tired." Tooth finished for him softly.

Jamie looked up, startled. "Uh yeah, exactly. Well except for that last one." _But that _would_ explain why I was able to hold him down the last time I saw him_, he couldn't help but think.

Tooth slowly flitted over to his window, perching on the ledge and staring through the glass thoughtfully. It struck Jamie how Jack had assumed an eerily similar position quite frequently the last couple times he'd seen him. Maybe the Guardians tended to find his room slightly claustrophobic?

Unexpectedly, The brunette felt a sharp pang in his chest. _Jack...where are you?_

Before he could allow the sudden feeling of longing overwhelm him, Tooth turned to face him again, a troubled look on her face. "I should have thought to check this before..." Her voice trailed off as her eyes seemed to glaze over. Jamie watched curiously as she simply hovered there in the same position, as if her gaze was fixed on something far away.

Just as he was about to open his mouth to ask just what the heck she was waiting for (in a far more polite tone of course), those amethyst eyes suddenly narrowed before clearing up to their normal color.

"What? What is it?" Jamie asked anxiously, barely keeping himself from grabbing the Guardian by the shoulders, frantically demanding to know what was going on. His breath nearly caught in his throat as Toothiana turned to him, her normally cheerful face dark with uncharacteristic anger.

"Pitch."

* * *

Over 9000 miles away, a certain winter spirit struggled to find comfort in the freezing winds of the Antarctic. Despite the below freezing temperatures however, sweat formed on his forehead, immediately freezing into tiny beads that were whisked away by the howling winds.

The young Guardian could do nothing but watch helplessly as a dark shadow slowly loomed over his writhing form.

* * *

_A/N: Anyone else here get their wisdom teeth pulled? Anyone else here consider the days spent recovering as the most miserable days of your life?_


End file.
